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Update: Feels like I’m telling a lot of people this now. So, I figured I’d update the post. I promise I will be good and use a spell/grammar checker from now on. I know a ton of smart people who have shitty grammar and spelling so stop the presses guys. Give me a day or so to update the post.

Me

Being a CEO, a programmer and a writer you might assume I am classically educated. Well, you’d be wrong. I don’t even hold a high school diploma. In a way I’m proud of how far I’ve come without it and I think it’s a testament to my resourcefulness. I have had a couple people ask me why I don’t go get it just to have some paper that qualifies my education. Well, a long time ago I did go in to get my piece of paper and take the GED test. But, me being me, I was a few minutes late and they wouldn’t let me in to take the test. This was when I was 18. After that, I never got around to getting the GED or Diploma. At some point I started wearing it as a badge and used it to promote my views on the education system.

The Question

So, the question should be "Why would someone who is obviously intelligent not be able to complete high school?". That’s a good question. The simple answer is I was extremely bored. School couldn’t satisfy my thirst for knowledge fast enough and all of the steps I had to take to get a grade seemed irrelevant. I could get 100% on a test without doing homework and just reading the relevant chapter with a couple questions to the teacher I didn’t need any more guidance. The same thing that has been a great benefit to me in the real world was a detrament to me in school. If I decided not to do homework then it counted against my grades, no matter how high my test scores were. I was scoring college level on standardized test at 9th grade for most of my subjects.

One Size Fits All

The current education system in the United States is a result of the Industrial Age with little in the way of modification. Excuse me for this dim view on Education but I’m about to say what I really think of this country’s system. The public education system is a poor baby sitter intent on teaching a government prescribed set of values that create loyal nationalist tax payers and consumers at the same pace for every child. A child who falls outside of that pace is seen as ‘difficult’ and penalized because they don’t fit the mold that the government desires to create. Every child learns in a different way but the system is setup to serve the lowest common denominator which can squeeze the life out of the truly advanced students and leave behind the slowest of students. Basically, if you don’t fall close to the middle you don’t make it. We don’t reward exceptional students who are out of the box thinkers as much as we reward students who follow the intended structure and abide by the patterns we suggest are ‘right’. One size doesn’t truly fit all and I wonder if I got left behind by this system how many other did or how many just learned to brainwash themselves to deal with the inadequacy of the system.

Education That Doesn’t Hurt

Federal central-command style budget management, overbearing educational standards that mean mostly nothing and unions that don’t understand that by protecting the weakest in their herd they hurt themselves are all damaging the system. The purpose of all people should be to educate children and create the next set of Outliers that will innovate and create the things we need to move this world in to a responsible and productive Information Age. Cream will likely always rise to the top even in the face of a system that works against many who need it. Things like Charter Schools, Homeschooling and or Private Schools that don’t have these problems are things I will be looking in to as a parent. I will not send my son to general public school, ever. At least not in their current state. I have a feeling doubling the budget of this system (as has been done by Obama) may not solve the problem. A general revolution in the public education system is needed. I will withhold judgement on what the new administration will do with all the money being showered on them for Education… but I’m skeptical.

Suggestions For Learnin’

What do I know about Education? I mean I dropped out in 10th grade. (-: Anyways, here are some suggestions I have for what I would do if I were to have an unlimited budget to invest in a school of my own.

1. No singular views on historical events. History is written by the victor. We need to consider the loser’s point of view, why they lost and how they felt. Nothing can be understood without really understanding more than one perspective.


2. Ethics. Why can’t we teach ethics in school? Seems like Ethics should be a subject. Maybe if some of these shady Wall Street types had taken an ethics class and failed we’d know who to not trust with our money.


3. Homework is Optional. If you can pass tests and understand the subject matter than you have no homework. Hey, what a great incentive to pay attention, take good notes and study them.


4. Economics For Youngins. At the earliest age they can count they should not only learn about money but the school should be given a micro-economy where goods and services can be traded for mock money. So few children leave school with any mind for managing their own money or having any understanding of money.


5. Respect the Outliers. Those who are very quick should be allowed to advance as quickly as they can absorb subject matter. Those who are slower should be given the resources and time to be successful.


6. Apprenticeships. If a student takes an early interest in a subject they should be allowed to apprentice with a professional in that industry at an early age to learn more. As early as 13-14 but even earlier than that they should be encouraged and allowed to pursue an interest if they show interest in something.


7. Respect Different Styles of Learning. Some people are better at auditory learning, some visual, some need both and some need examples. We should teach and class people together based on how they learn.


8. Respect Different Schedules. Did you know 20% of us are tuned to be better at night (terrible with mornings) and 20% of us are better in mornings (terrible at night). The rest of us fall in between. Teachers are in these groups too. We should test for this and put late rising teachers with late rising students and early rising teachers with early rising students and those that fall in between don’t matter as much. Read Brain Rules.


9. Respect Physical Education. We are creatures that need to be on the move. We don’t learn as well when we don’t sweat. Go back to my link about Brain Rules (a great book).


10. Respect Sleep. This one is a bit more optional but if we were following our body’s patterns as again suggested in Brain Rules (third plug for this book) we would sleep once in the afternoon for a short nap and we would gain over 30% efficiency throughout the rest of the day. That’s a high gain. Guess what? We learn better when we get more sleep. Crazy.